Africa’s instant payment systems (IPSs) processed 32 billion transactions last year, totaling $1.2 trillion U.S. dollars. The volume of payments and the total value of payments processed has grown since 2018 by 47% and 39%, respectively.
These figures are derived from a new report issued by AfricaNenda, an African-led organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of IPSs. In addition to the growing payment numbers, three new IPSs in Ethiopia, Morocco, and South Africa have launched in the last 12 months. That brings the total number of live domestic and regional IPSs on the continent to 32.
But even that $1.2 trillion figure understates the value of these transactions across Africa. According to Sabine Mensah, Deputy Chief Executive of AfricaNenda, the figures were based on data from only 22 out of the 32 countries that have active IPSs on the continent to date.
Currency Effects Downplay the Impact
As of June 2023, when the report was finalized, there had been an average of about 30% depreciation of currencies in Africa against the U.S. dollar, according to Mensah. If the value of the transactions had been based on the exchange rates prior to June 2023, she said, the value would have far exceeded $1.2 trillion.
Mensah said retrieving this data from central banks and payment switches in Africa is still a challenge. Out of the 22 countries that made data available, only five were obtained directly from the respective central banks. For the remaining 17 countries, AfricaNenda gathered their information from the internet.
The report also noted that 27 African countries have yet to set up a domestic IPS, although 17 have plans on the way and three regional payment systems are also in development. In addition, according to Mensah, only three of the 32 active African IPSs that her organization tracks facilitate cross-border payments at this time. So despite the rapid growth over the past year, there is plenty of room for further development.
